A hillside wooded lot outside Austin, Texas, provided architect Adam Steiner, of Cornerstone Architects, with a unique opportunity. The homeowners wanted a soft, contemporary home, with abundant connection to the outdoors – but how do you provide that outdoor connection on a steep grade?

Steiner designed the home to take advantage of the drop with clever positioning, large windows and moving glass walls that captured as much of the view as possible. The U-shaped home uses the ample trees and terrain to provide views for the owners without compromising privacy. An “upside-down” arrangement places the primary living areas, including a dining room, kitchen, study, and primary suite on the main floor. Additional living spaces and secondary bedrooms sit below the main floor and open to the courtyard-like pool area.

“The key to the design was openness,” Steiner said. “We wanted to bring the outdoors in, especially on the main level, and allow for outdoor areas on different levels of the home.”

A large factor in the connection to the outdoors was the copious amount of glazing. With amazing views available from almost every room, the large windows and multi-slide doors allowed the surroundings to be part of the clean and modern home design. “We chose Western Window Systems because we wanted to get the largest glass sizes possible, while maintaining a very thin frame around the profile,” said Steiner.

The abundant glass creates dramatic moments, such as the view from the front of the home through the living area to the view beyond. “It’s an immediate wow factor,” Steiner said. “You walk and you can see everything.”

See more of the home at WesternWindowSystems.com.